The Gold Cadillac

Daddy, or Wilbert, is ’lois’s father. In The Gold Cadillac, Wilbert’s pursuit of the American dream is the source of the conflict that ’lois experiences. A successful Black man, ’lois’s father wants to prove his success and escape the oppression he experienced from his earlier life in the South. This desire is the catalyst both for his choice to buy the car as well as his decision to drive it to Mississippi, despite the danger posed by driving an expensive car into the South. Daddy explains his thinking both to ’lois and to skeptical neighbors and relatives. His transparency is an important part of his character and supports his daughters to have a stronger understanding of the world, as is reflected in his honest descriptions to ’lois of racism in the U.S. toward the conclusion of the novel.

The relationship between Daddy and Mother is tense at moments of the novel, yet ’lois sees their life together as loving and connected. For young readers this complexity can be an important message: ’Lois’s parents experience conflict but work through that difficulty through communication. ’Lois’s observes the ways her parents interact to reach resolution with each other; they stay connected as a couple throughout the events of the story. Taylor portrays Daddy, intentionally, as someone who listens to his partner and seeks equal footing. Taylor includes this kind of positive description of parental relationships in her other works as well.

Mother, or Mother-Dear, is ’lois’s mother and a strong woman who has a voice in her partnership and community life, and keeps her family moving toward their goals. ’Lois admires her mother and hopes for her conflict with Daddy to be resolved. Mother is not characterized with significant detail or depth, likely because of the brevity of the story, but it is clear that she is a positive influence for both ’lois and Wilma. Though Wilbert does not seek her input before buying the car, he clearly cares about her reaction and wants to be a partner with her in resolving her feelings about the car.

If Daddy’s dreams cause conflict in the novel, Mother balances these with a practical vision for what is necessary to achieve both stability and happiness. In many cases, Mother’s influence is shown in the way she cares for her family, especially by cooking for the trip; the picnic basket in the Cadillac illustrates that she consistently shows up for her family, even through conflict. ’Lois loves her mother and sees her as a powerful decision maker in their lives.